Your Questions About Dental Implants Answered

Today, with modern medicine making tremendous advances, dental implants have become the most innovative and best way to replace teeth. We would go so far as to say that implants are actually changing how people view tooth replacement and tooth loss, in general. This is because implants are actually placed into the jawbone by a dentist or oral surgeon, making them a permanent replacement solution. While the counterparts to implants, dentures, and bridges, have also had some advancements they are still depending on an old school mentality.

Dentures still use adhesives to bond the removable solution into your mouth, while bridges still need to be cemented in place. None of this is necessary with dental implants, which gives you the strongest, most durable, and best looking replacement tooth available.

There are still some folks that are attached to the traditional solution for tooth replacement, which is why we want to make sure that people understand the difference implants can make to your quality of life. Once our patients are educated about the permanent benefits of having dental implants, versus some of the other solutions available, many of them chose to go with this modern solution.

The fact that dental implants are a more permanent solution raises a number of questions for our patients. This is especially true if you already have a dental prosthetic and are considering a change. Change is never easy, which is why some questions and concerns are natural. What we have found is that there are typically three major kinds of concerns.  With that in mind, here are the questions we are commonly asked.

How long will my dental implants last?

People want to know if these devices will have longevity. This question is relatively difficult to answer because there are so many factors that come into play. First the person's health and hygiene habits play a pivotal role in the longevity of your dental implants. Other factors which cannot be accounted for are the advent of gum diseases, jawbone resorption, or accidents. Typically dental implants last anywhere from seven to thirty years and can last a lifetime with proper oral health care.

How often is the procedure successful?

Dental implants get their strength from the jawbone through a process called osseointegration. Knowing that, many people want to understand how often it occurs. As far as acceptance goes (osseointegration), there is a 92% to 98% chance that your implants will be a success.

How long is the typical recovery time?

We typically do dental implant installations in stages. What this allows us to do is to ensure that you are getting the best implant with the most chance of success. After each stage, we pause to check our work, make minor adjustments, and then proceed to the next stage. During each stage break, you will have between ten and fourteen days to recover from the procedure. At the very end, you will need about the same, 10 to 14 days of recovery time before your teeth are completely back to normal. In the end, you will have a natural looking, beautiful new tooth.